Austrian GP wrap-up: Positive Saturday turns to difficult Sunday for BWT Alpine F1

It’s been a difficult weekend for Alpine, with ups and downs across the race weekend. Hopes were high on Saturday, with Gasly starting in P10, but the weekend quickly turned into a long and arduous afternoon in Austria as the A525 struggled in both heat and traffic.

Today in numbers:

• Pierre started from P10 on Used Softs, finished P13
  Pit stops on Lap 12 for New Hards and Lap 38 for New Mediums. Fastest lap: 1min 10.151secs
  
• Franco started from P14 on New Softs, finished P15
  Pit stops on Lap 13 for New Mediums and Lap 39 for New Hards. Fastest lap: 1min 09.621secs

Promising Saturday:

The A525 looked more in line with the rest of the midfield on Saturday, as Pierre Gasly managed to extract the pace needed to reach a competitive Q3. While his spin didn’t help matters, it still left Gasly and Alpine in a solid position to fight for points—something that has been elusive across the eleven rounds so far.

Colapinto also looked set to close the gap to the points with a respectable P14 finish after qualifying P12 in Canada the previous round.

Difficult Sunday for Gasly:

Things were looking positive by the end of the first lap, with Gasly avoiding the incident between Antonelli and Verstappen and moving into P6.

“We had a very good start, up to sixth place at the end of the first lap. After that, there is not much to say other than it being a difficult race.”

Unfortunately, strategy choices, rising track temperatures, and a lack of confidence in the car through the high-speed sections of the Red Bull Ring made it hard for Gasly to maintain position. After the early promise, he gradually slipped back to finish P13 by the end of the 70-lap race.

“We have a lot to understand and analyse as I just felt a lack of grip all race and really struggled across all the stints. I am not sure why, maybe some damage to the car, maybe not, but we need to review this one in detail as it was a very long afternoon and a frustrating outcome.”

Gasly will now turn his attention to the team’s home Grand Prix at Silverstone next week, hoping for stronger results.

Colapinto Fights Through Frustration:

“It was a hot and frustrating afternoon today.”

Colapinto also endured a tough race, struggling with balance throughout the 70 laps and unable to maintain consistent pace.

“We had a good start but as the race went on, we struggled with the car and the balance, which did not really work for us as a team.”

Traffic in the tightly packed midfield made it difficult to move forward, and his race was further disrupted by a Turn 4 incident with Tsunoda that caused a spin and may have resulted in car damage.

“I had the incident with Tsunoda at Turn 4, which set us back a bit and lost us some time (...) it's a pity as the car felt different following the contact, potentially due to some damage.”

Colapinto ultimately finished P15.

Looking Ahead to Silverstone:

It was a hard-fought weekend with little reward, as rival teams like Kick Sauber, Racing Bulls, and Haas managed to break into the points. Flavio Briatore summed up the team’s current challenge:

“While [Saturday] the car was quick and should have been well inside Q3 with two cars, Sundays are a very different story for us and it is important we understand why this is, especially if we want to turn this season around from this difficult position.”

With Silverstone up next and Formula One celebrating its 75th anniversary, Alpine will need to regroup quickly and identify areas for improvement if they are to deliver a stronger result at their home race.

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